Convertible chair.



G. W. PETTYJOHN.

CONVERTIBLE CHAIR.

APPLlCATlON FILED JAN. 5. I916.

Patented Jan. 16,1917.

3 SHEETS-SHEET l.

G. W. PETTYJOHN.

' CONVERTIBLE CHAIR.

APPLICATION FILED JAN-5.1916.

1 ,21 2,675. Patented Jan. 16, 1917.

3 SHEETSSHEET 2- wfl naoow G. W. PETTYJOHN.

CONVERTIBLE CHAIR.

APPLICATION FILED JAN-5,1916.

Patented J1in.16,19l7.

3 SHEETSSHEET 3- PATENT OFFICE.

GEORGE W. PE'ITYJOHN, 0F WOODBURY, NEW JERSEY.

CONVERTIBLE CHAIR.

Application filed January To all whom it may concern Be it known that I,GEORGE W. Perry- JOHN, a citizen of the United States, residing at\Voodbury, in the county of Gloucester and State of New Jersey, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Convertible Chairs, ofwhich the following is a specification. I

My invention relates to improvements in convertible chairs, the objectof the invention being to provide a chair which may be used as anordinary Morris chair capable of adjustment, which may be used as arocking chair with means thereon for moving the chair on its rockers,and which may be used as a couch.

A further object is to provide a chair of the character stated which iscapable of a wide range of adjustment to suit the user, and which may beadjusted and operated without the necessity of leaving the chair, sothat the user can adjust the chair to any position desired while he isseated therein.

With these and other objects in view, the invention consists in certainnovel features of construction and combinations and arrangements ofparts as will be more fully hereinafter described and pointed out 111the claims.

In the accompanying drawings: Figurel is a view in side elevationillustrating my improvements in one position. Fig. 2 is a similar viewshowing the chair in another position of adjustment. Fig. 3 is a bottomplan view of Fig. 2, the view being on an enlarged scale and partlybroken away. Fig. 1 is a fragmentary View in section on the line H ofFig. 3. Fig. 5 is a fragmentary view in section on the line 5-5 of Fig.3. Fig. 6 is a fragmentary bottom planview illustrating the operatingvmeans for the spring bolt 32 and omitting other features which wouldhide the details, and Fig. 7 is an enlarged central longitudinalvertical section through the chair-with certain parts broken away.

1 represents the seat of my improved chair, 2 the back connected to theseat by hinges 3, and a is the foot rest connected to the seat by hinges5. The seat 1 is secured to uprights 6 at the sides of the chair, andthese uprights at their lower ends are secured to and supported uponrockers 7 The uprights 6 extend above the seat 1,

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Jan. 16, 1917.

5, 1916. Serial No. 70,337.

and support arms 8, and vertical braces 9 connect the intermediateportions of the arms 8 with the seat 1.

As the chair contains considerable mechanism under the seat, Ipreferably provide filler boards 10 under the seat between the uprights6, as shown clearly in Figs. 1 and 2.

The back 2 is provided with a hinged extension 11 which is secured bymeans of a pawl 12 in a notched disk 13, and this extension may beraised or lowered as shown in the drawings.

To the inner faces of the filler boards 10, segments 14: are connectedby stud bolts 15, and these segments have flanges 16 provided withopenings 17 into which spring-pressed latch bolts 18 project. Theselatch bolts 18 are movable in openings 19 in the vertical braces 9, andare in convenient reach of the occupant of the chair.

The segments 1st are connected by short links 20 with relatively longlinks 21. The links 21, at their forward ends, are pivotally connectedto brackets 22 secured to foot rest 4, and at their rear ends arepivotally connected to brackets 23 secured to back 2.

By reason of the construction above described, when the back 2 is moveddownwardly, preferably by the weight of the occupantof the chair, thelinks 20 and 21 cause the segments 14 to move. This movement cannot takeplace, however, until the latch bolts 18 are drawn out of the segments,and after the desired adjustment is had, the latch bolts engage thesegments or rather the openings 17 in the segments, and secure the chairat the desired adjustment.

A relatively heavy coiled spring 2 1 counterbalances the weight of theparts and is connected at one end. to a bracket 25 on foot rest 4, andat its other end to a bracket 26 on a cross bar 27 secured to uprights6. This spring 21 tends to draw the foot rest 4 downwardly, and at thesame time tends to elevate the back 2 and balance the weight of the backso as to render adjustment easy.

In brackets 28, securedbelow thelchair bottom 1, a shaft 29 issupported, and on this shaft 29, a drum 30 is mounted to turn. The drum30 is provided in one side with a circular series of holes 31 to receivein any of them a spring latch bolt 32 which is connected by a cord 33with one of the latch bolts 18 as shown most clearly in Fig.

6, in which it will be noted that the cord 33 is preferably wrappedaround idle pulleys 34.

A short shaft 35 is supported in a bracket 36 depending from chair seat1 in advance of drum 30. A toggle lever 37 is pivotally connected at itsupper end to the shaft 35, and at its lower end to forwardly projectinglinks 38, the latter having their rear ends pivotally connected. todepending bars 39 fixed to transverse bar 27.

A roller 40 is provided at the lower end of toggle lever 37 A roller 41is provided at the upper end of toggle lever 37 and a roller 42 isprovided at the center or hinged connection of the members of the togglelever 37.

A. foot lever 43 is connected to the foot rest 4 by a hinge 44, and astrap 45 wound on the drum 30 is secured at one end to the foot lever43. The strap 45 extends from the drum 30 around roller 41, thencearound roller 42, thence around an idle roller 46 on the foot rest 4,thence through a slot 47 in the foot rest, and is then secured to footlever 43 as shown at 48.

A thin steel band 49 is secured to the foot lever and extends throughslot 47 and tends to hold the strap straight in its movement by the footlever, and prevent any slack or entanglement of the strap. A shortersteel strip 50 is also secured to the strap 45, and. operates to limitthe movement of the strap, and foot lever, in one direction by reason ofits engagement with the foot rest 4, yet this strip 50 which constitutesa spring tongue, can be bent so as to pass through the slot 47 and allowthe foot lever 43 to lie fiat against the foot rest when desired. Bymeans of this foot lever 43 and its cooperating parts, the occupant ofthe chair can, with his feet, move the foot lever 43, and cause thechair to rock. This rocking action is caused by the movement of togglelever 37, the lower roller 40 bearing on the floor, and the movement ofthe foot lever 43 causes the toggle lever to straighten, and therebyexert an upward pressure on the upward part of the chair seat 1.

The toggle lever is bent, and the foot rest 43 drawn inwardly when thechair rocks forwardly, hence the pressure of the feet against the footrest 43 operates to rock the chair rearwardly and its return movementcauses the foot lever to move inwardly.

The drum is permitted to turn whenever the chair back 2 and foot rest 4are adjusted, as the latch bolt 32 operates in conjunction with one ofthe latch bolts 18, and a coiled spring 51 tends to turn the drum 30 ina direction to wind the strap thereon.

To hold the chair against rocking movement whenever desired, I providearms 52 which are pivotally connected between their ends to the rockers7 as shown at 53. These arms 52 are moved by fingers 54 on a transverseshaft 55, the latter supported in the rockers 7, and provided on one endwith a hand lever 56. This lever 56 is adapted to be operated by theoccupant of the chair, and notched brackets 57 and 58 are secured to thechair and are adapted to hold this lever in either of its twoadjustments.

In the position shown in Figs. 1, 2, and 7, the arms 52 are presseddownwardly against the floor and prevent any rocking movement. When itis desired to rock, the lever 56 is swung to the position shown indotted lines in Fig. 1.

Various slight changes might be made in the general form and arrangementof parts described without departing from my invention, and hence I donot limit myself to the precise details set forth, but consider myselfat liberty to make such changes and alterations as fairly fall withinthe spirit and scope of the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire tosecure by Letters Patent is:

1. In a chair, the combination with supports, rockers carrying thesupports, of a seat secured to the supports, a back, arms pivotallyconnected to the rockers, a shaft supported by the rockers and havingfingers thereon engaging the arms, and a lever on one end of the shaftadapted to move the shaft and arms to hold the chair against rockingmovement, substantially as described.

2. In a chair, the combination with supports, rockers carrying thesupports, of a seat secured to the supports, a back, a foot rest hingedto the seat, a foot lever connected to the foot rest, and chair rockingmeans located under the chair and operatively connected to the footlever, substantially as described.

3. In a chair, the combination with sup ports, rockers carrying thesupports, of a seat secured to the supports, a back, a foot rest hingedto the seat, a toggle lever under the chair, and a foot lever connectedto the foot rest and operatively engaging the toggle lever to rock thechair when the foot lever is moved, substantially as described.

4. In a chair, the combination with supports, rockers carrying thesupports, of a seat secured to the supports, a back, a foot rest hingedto the seat, a drum mounted under the chair, a toggle lever connected tothe chair and having one end engaging the floor, a foot lever connectedto the foot rest,

and a flexible device connected at one end to the drum, and at its otherend to the foot rest and between its ends operatively engaging thetoggle lever, substantially as described.

5. In a chair, the combination with sup ports, rockers carrying thesupports, of a seatsecured to the supports, a back, a foot rest hingedto the seat, a drum supported under the chair, a spring'tending to turnthe drum in one direction, a latch bolt looking the drum against turningmovement, a

toggle lever located below the chair and having its lower end engagingthe floor, a foot lever hinged to the foot rest, a strap secured to thedrum and to the foot lever and between its ends engaging the togglelever, and

- scribed.

rollers on the toggle lever around which the strap is passed,substantially as de- 6; Ina chair, the combination with supports,rockers carrying the supports, of a 7 seat secured to the supports, aback and a pivotally connected to the supports, links,

openings in foot restboth hinged to the seat, segments connecting thesegments with the back and foot rest, and latch bolts carried by thesupports and engaging the segments, substantially as described.

7. In a chair, the combination with sup ports, of a seat secured to thesupports, a

back and a foot restboth hinged to the seat,

back and a foot rest both hinged to the seat,

segments pivotally connected to the suports and having a series ofopenings therein, links pivotally connecting the segments with the back.and footrest, whereby the copies of this patent may be obtained torfive cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, j vWashington, D. G. g

the segments and holding the movementof said back and foot i the pivotalmovement of the segments,--and I spring-pressed latch bolts engagingopenings in the segments and hol ing the back and foot rests in variouspositions of adjustment, and a coiled spring connecting the foot restand the supports andexerting a pull on the foot rest tending to move these ments in a direction to elevate the back,"

su stantially as described.

9. In a chair, the combination with supports, of a seat secured to thesupports, a back and a foot rest both hingedto the seat, segmentspivotally connected to the sup in the n ports and having a series ofopenings therein, links pivotally connecting the se I ents with the backand foot rest, where y the movement of said back and footcrest causesthe pivotal movement of 'theseg'ments, and v spring-pressed latch boltsengagin in the v openings in the segments and hol ing the back and footrests in various positions of adjustment, a toggle lever supportedunderthe chair and at its lower endengaging the floor, a drum supportedunder the chair and havinga circular series of openings one side, alatch bolt connected to and movable with one of. the first-mentionedlatch. bolts, said last-mentioned latch bolt en ag-f ing in the openingsinthe drum to hol the drum against movement, a -foot lever hinged to thefoot rest, a strap wound OIl'llhB drumz and secured at one end to thefootrest, said strap between its ends operatively' engaging the togglelever, substantially as described.

- In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specificationin'the presence 8i) of two subscribing Witnesses.

GEORGE W. PETTYJOHN.

Witnesses: IOLA REDFIELD,

ERNEST Rnnrmm).

